ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a historical development of legal education in Thailand as background information on how clinical education and legal services at Thammasat University have developed. Legal education is a learning process of ‘legal scientists’ being expected to apply their knowledge, skills and inspirations to keep order and uphold justice for the peaceful well-being of human society. Clinical education is a practical dimension of the study and the application of legal science. The most simple explanation of Dharma is that it is the Law of Nature or the Law of Causation. Traditional concepts hold that custom, law and justice are identical and are all encompassed in Dharma. The Buddhist explanation of equality, fraternity and freedom deemed as the democratic foundation is profound and realistic. The Lawyers’ Association of Thailand was also founded and dominated by male lawyers. This association played a vital role in liberating the practicing lawyers from the Thai Bar Association.
